Cornelio Malvasia, Marquis of Bismantova (11 April 1603 – 29 March 1664) was an Italian aristocrat, patron of astronomy and military leader.

In 1656 he visited Paris and received honours from King Louis XIV of France - a 400 doppie annual pension for his position of Marechal and a gift of a diamond bottoniera from Cardinal Mazarin.

[1] Throughout his military career, Malvasia maintained a strong general interest in astronomy, optics and scientific engineering.

[2] Malvasia was elected a Senator of Bologna and began construction of the privately owned Panzano Observatory in the early 1640s.

Most of their time was spent calculating newer, better, and more accurate ephemerides for astrological purposes using the rapidly advancing astronomical methods and tools of the day.